Green Guidance

Green
Guidance

Preparing for Disasters

Most of us
don't want to think about disasters, much less prepare for them. Over the long
term, we'll need to protect ourselves by preserving wetlands, mangrove forests,
and other natural shields against extreme weather. But in the short term, we
need to be ready for emergencies without surrendering to scaremongering.
Knowing the best evacuation route out of town before a flood or hurricane hits,
for instance, can be life-saving. Below are a few tips and eco-friendly
solutions to help you get through disasters unscathed.

Be
Informed. Contact your local authorities to find out about the hazards
and emergencies your area is prone to and what you can do to reduce your risk.
In the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides
state-by-state historical disaster lists as well as preparedness tips
(www.fema.gov). For worldwide information, the International Disaster Database
at the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters provides country
listings of natural and technological disasters (www.cred.be). Also, check with
officials about obtaining copies of community and school emergency plans, and
learn the evacuation plan for your workplace.

Plan
Ahead. All family members should have a contact card listing a meeting
place and phone number as well as contact information for a friend outside the
region with whom members can check in. To prepare for possible medical
emergencies, take a first aid or CPR course at a local chapter of your national
Red Cross or Red Crescent society (www.ifrc.org). Check your insurance for
coverage of emergencies known to strike your area, and make sure you have
carriers and food ready for your pets.

Prepare
an Emergency Kit. Depending on where you live and the types of disasters
likely in your area, you may need to store enough non-perishable food and water
to last your family three days or more, providing at least one gallon (3.8
liters) of water per person per day. Kits should include cash, bedding, matches,
first aid supplies (including prescription medications and copies of insurance
policies), deeds, credit cards, and other identification. Also, store enough
gas to fill your car. Eco-friendly items to help keep you fed and informed
during emergencies include:

Non-perishable
food (and a can opener): You can avoid hormone-disrupting bisphenol-A (BPA) in
the linings of cans by choosing foods in recyclable aseptic cartons (such as
those produced by Tetra Pak and Sig Combibloc). Eden Foods also avoids using
BPA in its canned organic foods line (edenfoods.com).

Radios:
Solar radios that can also be hand-cranked mean you have fewer batteries to
worry about. Some include an LED flashlight and have both short- and long-wave
functions (freeplayenergy.com).

Flashlights:
LED flashlights will extend battery life considerably, or try a hand-cranked or
solar model (freeplayenergy.com, niteize.com, realgoods.com).

Batteries
and rechargers: Batteries are snapped up quickly in emergencies, but
rechargeables can draw on solar energy to keep the power flowing to your
cellphone or even your car battery (sundancesolar.com, batterystuff.com,
brunton.com). For information on recycling rechargeable batteries at the end of
their life, see rbrc.org. Dispose of non-recyclable batteries according to
local solid-waste regulations.

Stoves:
For extended emergencies you'll want to cook and may need to purify water by
boiling it. Solar cookers come in a variety of portable forms, including ones
that fold flat, reach high temperatures, and come with a pot and water
pasteurization indicator (solarcookers.org). Where sunlight is inconsistent,
try clean-burning canned fuel (ecofuelxb.com).

Finally, make sure you regularly
check all stored items to ensure they still function and review your emergency
plans with family members. For more information, see "Prudent Reaction Versus
Overreaction" (Green Guide #90) and product reports at www.thegreenguidecom.

Paul W.
McRandle is senior research editor of The Green
Guide, published by The Green Guide Institute,
which provides the research for this department.